Samuel Dexter

Samuel Dexter
3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office January 1, 1801 – May 13, 1801
President	John Adams Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	Oliver Wolcott
Succeeded by	Albert Gallatin
4th United States Secretary of War
In office June 1, 1800 – January 31, 1801
President	John Adams
Preceded by	James McHenry
Succeeded by	Henry Dearborn
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office March 4, 1799 – May 30, 1800
Preceded by	Theodore Sedgwick
Succeeded by	Dwight Foster
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st district
In office March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 Serving with Fisher Ames, Benjamin Goodhue, and Samuel Holten (General Ticket)
Preceded by	Fisher Ames
Succeeded by	Theodore Sedgwick
Personal details
Born	(1761-05-14)May 14, 1761 Boston, Massachusetts, British America
Died	May 4, 1816(1816-05-04) (aged 54) Athens, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Political party	Federalist (before 1812) Democratic-Republican (from 1812)
Spouse	Katharine Gordon (m. 1786)
Children	4
Education	Harvard University (BA)
Occupation	Attorney
Signature

Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761 – May 4, 1816)^[1] was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinets of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Dexter was a 1781 graduate of Harvard College. After receiving his degree he studied law, attained admission to the bar in 1784, and began to practice in Lunenburg, Massachusetts.

A Federalist, Dexter served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1788 to 1790. In 1792 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, and he served in the 3rd United States Congress. The state legislature subsequently elected Dexter to the United States Senate, and he served from March 1799 to May 1800. Dexter resigned his senate seat to accept appointment as the fourth United States Secretary of War, and he served from 1800 to 1801. In January 1801, Dexter was appointed the third United States Secretary of the Treasury, and he served until resigning in the day before his fortieth birthday.

After leaving office, Dexter practiced law in Washington, D.C. until he returned to Boston in 1805. Dexter joined the Democratic-Republican Party because of its support for the War of 1812, and he was a candidate for governor in 1814 and 1815. In 1815, Dexter declined President James Madison's appointment as Minister to Spain. He was a candidate for governor again in 1816, but died on May 4, 1816, aged 54, while visiting his son in Athens, New York. Dexter was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.